Grant Dorfman
Grant Dorfman is a former civil court judge of District 334 in Harris County, Texas. He was appointed to the court by Governor Rick Perry on October 14, 2013.[1] He was re-elected on November 4, 2014.[2][3]
Dorfman lost his re-election bid in 2016.[4] The general election took place on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Dorfman received his undergraduate degree in history from Brown University in 1987, his master's degree in history and political philosophy from the University of Oxford in 1989, and his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School in 1992.[5]
Career
- 2013-2017: Judge, Texas District 334 (Appointed, Rick Perry)
- 2009-2013: Senior counsel, Nabors Industries
- 2002-2008: Judge, Texas District 129
- 1996-2002: Partner, Ogden, Gibson, Broocks, Longoria & Hall, LLC[5]
Elections
2016
Texas held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 1, 2016. A primary runoff election was held on May 24, 2016, for any seat where the top vote recipient did not receive a majority of the primary vote.[6] Incumbent Grant Dorfman ran unopposed in the Texas 334th District Court Republican primary.[4]
| Texas 334th District Court, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Grant Dorfman Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 198,921 |
| Total Votes | 198,921 | |
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Republican Party Cumulative Report-Unofficial," accessed March 2, 2016 | ||
Steven Kirkland defeated incumbent Grant Dorfman in the Texas 334th District Court general election.
| Texas 334th District Court, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Steven Kirkland |
52.09% | 659,630 | |
| Republican | Grant Dorfman Incumbent | 47.91% | 606,762 | |
| Total Votes | 1,266,392 | |||
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Election Results," accessed December 9, 2016 | ||||
Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
The judges of the Texas District Courts are chosen in partisan elections. They serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving.[7]
Though Texas is home to more than 400 district courts, the courts are grouped into nine administrative judicial regions. Each region is overseen by a presiding judge who is appointed by the governor to a four-year term. According to the state courts website, the presiding judge may be a "regular elected or retired district judge, a former judge with at least 12 years of service as a district judge, or a retired appellate judge with judicial experience on a district court."[8]
Qualifications
To serve on the district courts, a judge must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a resident of Texas;
- licensed to practice law in the state;
- between the ages of 25 and 75;*[9]
- a practicing lawyer and/or state judge for at least four years; and
- a resident of his or her respective judicial district for at least two years.[7]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[7]
2014
See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014
Dorfman ran for re-election to the 334th District Court.
Primary: He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on March 4, 2014.
General: He defeated Daryl Moore in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 54.8 percent of the vote.
[3][10][11]
Endorsements
2016
Dorfman's campaign endorsements included the following organizations:[12]
- Houston Chronicle
- Mexican American Bar Association
- C Club
- Houston Association of Women Attorneys
- Houston Realty Business Coalition
See also
- Texas District Courts
- Harris County, Texas
- Judicial selection in Texas
- Local trial court judicial elections, 2016
- Courts in Texas
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Perry Appoints Dorfman as Judge of the 334th Judicial District Court," October 14, 2013
- ↑ Judgepedia.org, “Judicial selection in Texas,” accessed November 21, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (A-L)"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 LinkedIn, "Grant Dorfman Profile," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ Texas Courts Online, "Administrative Judicial Regions," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Texas State Historical Association, "Judiciary," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (M-Z)" (Search "Harris")
- ↑ Harris County Texas, "Republican Party Cumulative Report - March 4, 2014 Primary Election," March 5, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Judge Grant Dorfman, "Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2016
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas
